Aldfrith was king of Northumbria from 685 until his death on 14 December 704 or 705. He is described by early writers such as Bede, Alcuin and Stephen of Ripon as a man of great learning. Some of his works and some letters written to him survive. His reign was relatively peaceful, marred only by disputes with Bishop Wilfrid, a major figure in the early Northumbrian church. Aldfrith was born on an uncertain date to Oswiu of Northumbria and an Irish princess named Fín. Oswiu later became King of Northumbria; he died in 670 and was succeeded by his son Ecgfrith. Aldfrith was educated for a career in the church and became a scholar. However, in 685, when Ecgfrith was killed at the battle of Nechtansmere, Aldfrith was recalled to Northumbria, reportedly from the Hebridean island of Iona, and became king (coin pictured). In his early-eighth-century account of Aldfrith's reign, Bede states that he "ably restored the shattered fortunes of the kingdom, though within smaller boundaries". His reign saw the creation of works of Hiberno-Saxon art such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Codex Amiatinus, and is often seen as the start of Northumbria's Golden Age. (Full article...)
After hundreds of workers are taken hostage in an attack at a gas facility near In Aménas, Algeria, a raid by Algerian forces results in dozens of fatalities.
The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis, ssp. tippelskirchi shown here) is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant. There are nine subspecies, which are distinguished by their coat patterns. Fully grown giraffes stand 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall, with males taller than and weighing nearly twice as much females. The giraffe's scattered range extends from Chad in the north to South Africa in the south, and from Niger in the west to Somalia in the east. Giraffes usually inhabit savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands. Their primary food source is acacia leaves, which they can browse at heights above which most other herbivores cannot reach.
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